I wanted him to selfishly retire after the Atlanta game would of been perfect. Retire after the craziest Super Bowl ever and allow Jimmy G to take over.
Would of been perfect never lose a young promising QB and watch Brady retire after the craziest comeback victory in a superbowl which how else would you want to go out. I was shocked he didn’t retire then. I’d give up the Rams Super Bowl win to not have to see Brady screw us without a heir on the roster and see us scramble with no Cap to fill that void.
I would’ve loved Tom Brady to play his entire career in New England. It still feels wrong seeing him in another uniform. But that’s me being selfish. Fact of the matter is he’s earned the right to end his career on his terms. The man gave us two decades of memories we’ll cherish forever. More championships than we ever thought possible. If he can still keep going, who are we to tell him he has to stop doing what he loves? Plus it’s not like he stuck it to us by signing with a rival, he went to the Bucs! A franchise none of us gave a crap about until he signed with them.
Brady had plenty of help of course, more than he had in his final season with the Pats, but he showed he could still go out there against the best of the best and win. He’s still the GOAT and I’m happy he’s doing well for himself and continuing to boost his legacy. I wish the Pats weren’t left looking mediocre after he left, but it’s not his fault that this team didn’t have a successor. It’s not Brady’s job to concern himself with his replacement, his only focus was winning and being the man for the job. He outplayed the Garoppolo successor timeline to everyone’s surprise, and it was up to Belichick to find the next guy. Turned out neither Brissett nor Stidham was it. He avoided free agency when he could’ve left long ago to maximize his earning potential. His overall body language definitely sucked toward the end, but he did what he could with what was given to him.
Frankly I’m more annoyed with Gronk, who two years ago waited too long to decide whether he was coming back or not and that resulted in the Pats missing out on Jared Cook. There may have been some pettiness from Gronk there, considering the team tried to trade him to Detroit just prior to the 2018 season and he threatened to retire to avoid that trade happening.
But anyway, all due respect I think it’s lunacy to say you’d rather give up that 6th Super Bowl championship just so you didn’t have to see Brady play for another team. No thank you. This team would be without Brady in either scenario but at least that banner will always fly at Gillette Stadium. You can’t fault people for being enamored with Brady and then put out statements like that.
The Patriots come first, now and always. If anyone defects entirely to the Bucs and doesn’t root for the Pats anymore then they were never true fans of this team. Only fans of winning. Like people who rooted for the Cavs and then switched over to the Heat when LeBron James left for them. When the Pats face the Bucs I hope they sack Brady so much that he’ll be tasting grass in his mouth for days afterward. I’d love the narrative to shift back into Belichick and the Patriots’ favor. But I have too much love and respect for Brady to hate on him or his fans like I’ve been seeing some Pats fans do (for the record, I rooted for the Bucs in the Super Bowl because I rather see Brady enhance his legacy with a 7th ring than to stomach the Chiefs fans and that whole Mahomes narrative). Brady having success outside this organization doesn’t bother me. I’ve had coworkers I liked go and leave for others jobs, and I didn’t stop liking them just because they left my team. People need to get out of this jilted ex-lover mindset and realize this is just a game we watch for entertainment. Good for him that he’s continuing to play long after many thought he’d be washed up. Hopefully this season is the start of Belichick’s response, and hopefully our Pats end the football season on a higher note than Brady’s Bucs.
